”The mechanism that determines whether you have fish fins or walking limbs is the rate at which a couple of hox genes are expressed. Hox genes are like conductors of an orchestra - they regulate how a whole suite of other genes perform, and changing the rate of a hox genes expression can radically alter how an organism develops. So if youre a fruit fly, how your hox genes are expressed will determine how your legs, antennae, and wings develop, but if youre a human, your hox genes will determine how different parts of your vertebrae develop. To get a better insight into how hox genes work, earlier this year developmental embryologists inserted the hox genes from a fish into a mouse. The fish hox gene couldnt produce fingers and toes in the mouse, says RiAuss A Week in Science, which means the genetic apparatus to develop these digits must have evolved after walking limbs developed.“
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 14:35:03 +0000
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